Gas-battery.



' Y Paltented July 3|, |900.

A. PLECHER. l f GAS BATTERY.

(No Model.)

'Applicazioh mea Nov. 2a, 1899.) i

A No5/v5 ys ally ignite's the gases.

PATENT' OFFICE.

ANDREW rLEoHER, oFsAvANNAn, GEORGIA.

GAS-BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersrPatentIlo. 6155,110, dated July 31, 1900.

Application nearove'mte: range. seriaiumssgoze. (Nomade.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW PLEcHER, of Savannah, in the county of Chatham an d State of Georgia, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Gas-Batteries, of which the followingis a specification. 4

The object of my invention is to provide an electric battery in which the generation of current is. effected by the' direct 'chemical union of two gases-oxygen and hydrogen,4 It is Well known that certain for instance. substanee's-sueh as platinum orpalladium or other metals of'this group-have the peculiar effect of causing the union of two such gases when brought together on its surface. In the Doebereiner lamp, for instance, when a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen impinges upon the platinum in a finely-divided condition-such as sponge-platinum or platinumblack-the surface action of the platinum causes the tWo gases to unite and to heat the platinum red hot, which in turn automatic- The chemical union of the two gases in such case isattended by the correlated phenomenon of heat, for the reason that the interatomic action produces a series of short-circuited couples whose lresistance gives heat instead of electric eurrent. My invention is designed to prevent this production ofheat and to get its correla-4 tive equivalent in electric current by separating the positive side of the atoms 'from the negative side and by thussegregating'the positive from the negative forces to carry them off in an extraneous circuit which permits it to be used in a controllable electric circuit. Gas-batteries operating on this gen# eral principle have heretofore been vinvented and I do not claim to be the rst to have ob: served this principle nor to provide means for carrying it out. 4 l

My invention consists, however, in a novel construction and arrangement ofthe elements of such a battery designed for greater elti-4 ciency and simplicity, and to that end it consists, iirst, in a cell whose body structure is of some porous material which is homogeneously filled throughout its entire structure' with platinum or its equivalent in "a finelydividedconditiomwhichcell-bodyhasbrought to its surface on one side one of the gaseshydrogen, forinstance-and on the other side the other gasdoxygen, for instance-and pro- `vidingsaid cell with two gathering-electrodes of great superficial extent, one of them bathed in the hydrogen-saturated surface of the cell,

and the other in the oxygensaturated surface of the cell, whereby when the hydrogen and oxygen unite through the action. of the inely-divided platinuminthehomogeneously- Y illed'cell the two electrodes will gather the liberated forces of opposite polarity as union takes place between the atoms and carry them ed through the conducting-wires of an extraneous circuit. i l

Myinventon. also consists in so constructing the cell or cells as to receive and hold the water or other resultant product from the union of the two gases, and also further in promoting the union of the two gases by the stimulating effect of a static discharge from an induction-coil, which at the same time depolarizes the battery andV dissipates the Water formed, all as hereinafter more fully described. A A

Figure 1 is a veritical section through a gas'n 'battery constructed in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 2 is an external side view of the same.

In the. drawings, A A A represent three cells, which may be of any shape, but for convenience are shown 'as inverted cups. Each cell is a counterpart of the others, and there may be any number connected in series, as shown,or in multi ple,aeeording to well-known princi-ples.

The cell-body A is composed of some por.

ous material which is capable of withstanding a considerable degree of heat and is not disintegrated bythe action of the chemical' produets'formed. I prefer to use clay or plaster-of-parisas a body-vehicle, which is mixed with a solution of chlorid of platinum or of palladium orothe'r metals of the platinum group. The cell is then molded to shape and after being dried is subjected to heat to harden and drive off by destructive distillation the chlorin gas, thereby leaving in the porous cell-body the metal platinum or its equivalent in a very finely-divided condition distributed homogeneously through the body substance of the cell, but with the metallic IOO particles detached or with their continuity'of.

contact broken up by the clay or plaster-of-I' paris forming the body ofthe cell. Instead 'of depositing platinum orpalladiuml in thi-s manner any analogous material' which 'by'sur face action will unite the gases may be vin-- corporated throughout the body of the cell in a similar way.. Betere the hardening of this c ell its inner wall is inlaid with agathering'- electrode of platinum w-ire at, extended in the shape 'of a `grill or `coils walls of the 'cell and connected toan-,external circuit-wire X. Oln the outside'of the cell'a similar gathering-electrode y is placed, preferably embedded or inlaid inl ,the plastic substance of the c ell and extended in the shape of a coil ror cage, so as.to cover'the entire external surface ofv the cell and 'connected to an external open lower ends of the cell-cups arev all 'in open communication' with a s ubja'cent 'trapchamberW, having an outlet-cock a and 'a gas-inlet H, through which. latter: .hyd-regen'v or other gas is admitted, so as to fill'the interiorof all the cells and bathethe innerelecf trede 'as inan atmosphere of hydrogen, while the outer electrode y is bathed in theoxygen of th'e atmosphere. Oxygen'and hydrogen are thus brought into juxtaposed layers, be-l ing separated onlyby thev pervious cell-body A, lilled with finely-divided platinum,a n'd havingon'e electrode bathed in' an oxygen stratum and. the other inthe hydrogen. These two gaseswill then' through thestimulating. effect of the nely-divided platinum, unite, forming'water which .trickles down into'the subjacent-trap-chamberW or accumulates in the external troughQW. A cock a in the allows thejv'rater bottom of the 4t'rapgciam ber 4o to be drawn o i'om time to time.

place to form water, the correlated equivalent in elefrical energy will be liberated and, gathering in onepolarityl on the oxygenbathed electrode y and in another polarity onl thehydrogenebathed electrode w, `will estab'- lish itself in a flow through the external cir? cuit-wires X` and-Y, that may be utilized'for 'any purpose. 5o To promoteth'e more active union of the two gases, an induction-coil Chas itssecond-` ary wire I connected to the cells A, as shown. To avoid short-circuiting the cells, one ter- 'minal of the'secondary wire may be out of contact with theexternal electrode y, a-s. shown. This induction-coil may be operated either by a separate battery-cell P or by wires l pp', connected to the main circuit-wires X Y- of the gassbattery, so as to be self-energizing.` The induced' electric current not only pro-- metes the union of the gases, 4but drives the, water from the pores and prevents polarization. 1 In carrying out my inve'ntion I do not Vcon- 6 5 Iine'yself to the particular form vof' cell over the entire innerV circuit-wire Y..'.}..1 The ,great simplicity and efficiency,

When the chemical union of the gases" takes l shown and described, .in many Ways withoutdepartng from my i n vention. f v

I amawarc that a gas-battery cell has been formed ...in -which a plate v01:' porous materialas this may be varied .like earthenwa're or pl'aster-of-parishas .been

lled .with sulfuric acid as an'electrolyte and j l -hasits external 'surface coated with perforated platinumor goldlfoil, the.- two gases being introduced on oppositesides.` My invention isgdistinctiye', f ilS'n constructing the cells without Vany-special electrolyte,but

ondly, in'l the s'timnlating' and depolarizing allows l the gases to come in. contact and unite.

I 'n my invention n`o` electrolyte is necessary,

and itis not only-unnecessary but objectioncharges drivesthe waterfromthe: pores' and.

able, -since'inl givingconductvity it would Y submerg'e-and diminishl the active surface of' asthe'oxygen is y taken lfrom the air and. the hydrogen yis y housed within the cell. By the; method ofpreparingthecell the greatestpos'si-ble ,active surface is obtained in the simplest and cheapy. est way. Themedium employed also atA the l:slime-time gives. shapeto the'batteryi-.cell' and the fineiy-di-vdeg'meml. Vfrimfpm1md-'ap- 4rangement ofmybatteryecells "arefalso `of Y no other substance except the wires and elec-' trodes is required;

ne it to' theaction'ofvhydrogen-and oxygen alone, but may employ it in connection with IOO any two gaseswhich have a chemical aiinity for each other.

VIt' desired, dry air or around the cells to evaporate the water formed.

In. definingk the scope of my invention AI would state that in thedesignationof Vthe metals by the termfof the platinum group.

I 'donot wish to be considered as being limfv `itedgto a strict interpretation of thisiphrase,

as it is intended to cover gold-aswelh'which gas maybe passed" is not always so classified. I prefer to use,

- however,- and will generally .employ platinum for this purpose. Having thus described my invention, what lclaim as new,- and'desire to secure by Letters superficial electrode adapted vto be covered 'purpose' described.

material'` h'omogenecusly,

gas-battery comprising a cell-jformedf. 12o

and having on*V lby the 'other gassubstantiallyas and for the 2. A gas-'batteryhavinga cell constructed o f non-conducting filled with a chemically-deposited metal of the platinum group and having electrodes on its opposite sidesl combined with an inductioncoil having its secondary Wiresk connected to electrodes on'the opposite sides of the walls' of said cell to send a vdischarge* through its Walls for stimulating the action and securing depolarization as described. V j

3.' A gas-battery having a cell constructed of non-conducting material homogeueousl-y filled with a chemically-deposited metal of the platinum group 'and having electrodesfon its;

opposite sides combined with ganlinductioncoil havingV itsV secondary wire-tconnected-to said electrodes to act through the cellbody,

and its primary wire connected to the circuit- Wires of the gas-battery substantially as vde-V scribed. Y 1 l A 4. A gas-battery having a cell constructed asa retaining-cup` for the hydrogen or combustible gas, said cup being made of porous non-conducting material' having' homogene- -ously distributed through its body, a chemically-deposited metal of the platinum group and electrodes on its opposite faces as set forth.

5. Agris-battery having a cell 'constructed as an inverted gas-retaining cup'composed of f porous refractory non conducting 4material ii lied with a chemically-deposited metal of the platinum group homogeneously distributed -through it,and electrodes on its opposite faces, and a subjacent receptaclel for receiving the Water formed by the chemical union of the gases as described 6. The gas-battery-consisting of inverted 'cupshaped cells A of porous refractory nonconducting material having internal and eX- .ternal electrodes and a commonsubjacent water-receptacle as shown and described.

cIn testimony whereof I have signed my 4ov namento this specication in the presence of 

